Bones has been a quiet hit for FOX but the same can’t be said for its spin-off, The Finder. FOX has now cancelled the low-rated series after one season.
The Finder is a procedural series that revolves around a man (Geoff Stults) with the extraordinary ability to help people find the unfindable. Other castmembers include Maddie Hasson, Mercedes Masohn, and Michael Clarke Duncan.
The spin-off debuted on January 12th to a disappointing 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 5.50 million total viewers. It was fourth in its Thursday night timeslot right out of the gate and lost nearly 30% of the all-important demo from its compatible lead-in, Bones. This was not a good start.
 Loading ... |
Things picked up a bit in the following weeks, thanks in large part to the show having FOX’s blockbuster American Idol as a lead-in. Still, the numbers weren’t as high as they should have been.
After seven weeks on the air, FOX put Finder on hiatus and then moved it to Friday nights, giving its Thursday timeslot to Touch. If The Finder could maintain a healthy percentage of its viewers after the switch, it would likely garner a renewal.
But that didn’t happen and Finder’s numbers dropped like a rock. In its first Friday airing, the freshman series attracted a 1.1 demo rating — an episode-to-episode loss of 53% — with just 4.03 million viewers. The numbers for future episodes fluctuated a bit but didn’t really get any more encouraging. The network could do just as well or better by running cheaper reality programming.
The season finale of The Finder is set to air this Friday night and there won’t be any episodes after that. Hopefully the producers saw the writing on the wall early enough and won’t leave viewers hanging with any major unresolved storylines.
What do you think? What went wrong with this show? Why do you think The Finder failed to attract a bigger audience? Was cancelling the series the right decision? How would you have fixed it?
This show was fantastic. Please bring it back.
i love the show is there any way we can save it???? please!!!
What in the world is wrong with FOX?! This show has so many interesting characters and a fun, smart script. This is such a great show! They need to bring this back. They can’t pull what they did with Firefly again!
One of my favorites – maybe USA should look at picking it up!
the problem is they don’t give people enough time to become invested in a show like this. My husband and I loved this show towards the end and looked forward to season 2. I think moving it to Fridays was a good idea, but why not give it time to expand. Another interesting show they cancelled too soon.
Well there goes another TV show that hubby and I could watch together and enjoyed. Everytime we find something we watch together instead of just gaming the network take it off after one season. This is the reason that the internet is haveing better ratings of people on all the time. Get a clue!!!
Seriously, how does FOX keep crap shows like American Dad, The Cleveland Show, Napoleon Dynamite, and New Girl around but justify cancelling The Finder? I still resent them for ******** up Firefly, and it seems they make a habit of cancelling good shows. Hopefully another studio will pick this up and then FOX can realize what a mistake they made.
I pretty much will not be watching any more TV shows from fox. I don’t care what they are at this point. FOX keeps throwing away great shows and keeping ones that stink up the joint. I’m tired of getting interested and hooked on shows like Finder and Firefly only to have them yanked.
I’ll just very politely say, screw you FOX. You’re not worth watching anymore.
Go a little darker the season finale is a great example.
I think FOX made a BIG mistake this time. This was a good fresh show. I am so sick of reality T.V. ^THat there is nothing real about. This show needs to stay on the air. FOX doesn’t have a lot else going for it.
The public didn’t speak with their wallets and that is all that executives care about. I would be interested to know if Internet viewers and DVR folks are considered. I believe many Americans like me are busy and the only tv I watch “live” when a program starts are sporting events. Otherwise, EVERY show I watch is from Hulu or DVR. If technology and that capability aren’t taken into account I’m afraid we’re doomed to suffer the mindless program drivel that is reality tv that portrays all the worst qualities of America.
Love this show. If fox can’t return the show I suggest A&E pick it up and run with the GLADES or Offseason to the GLADES it would be aperfect fit.
I loved this show change the time slot again and that was a terrible way to end the show
The finder was a welcome relief from the serious and make you feel sad shows that seem to fill the networks. The finder made me laugh every week. Please bring back The Finder, it was clever, funny and a feel good show. We need more of these.
I really hope the show goes to a new network and picks up a second season. They deserve to continue. It is such a good show. And how dare they end it with unresolved conflict. They cannot leave us hanging like that. It’s cruel, unusual punishment for those who thoroughly enjoyed the show. I mean, really FOX? Really?